Townsville Airport (TSV) is served by Qantas and Jetstar from Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne, and by Rex from Cairns and other regional centres. The airport is about 5 km from the CBD — a taxi takes 10–15 minutes.
By road, Townsville is on the Bruce Highway, 350 km north of Bowen and 340 km south of Cairns. Bus services connect Townsville to Cairns, Brisbane, and the Whitsundays, with Greyhound and Premier Motor Service operating the main routes.
The ferry to Magnetic Island runs from the breakwater terminal on Leslie Thiess Drive, about 1 km from the CBD. Sealink operates frequent services across the day; the crossing takes about 20 minutes.